Inner Strength: Time Heals
by Colb-a-nater
Summary: OFFICIAL  Sequel to Inner Strength. Ten years after Ash's forgotten adventure, we shift our gaze onto his son, Xander. The little Pichu has grown up knowing little to nothing about himself and his father, but will change soon.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! It's good to be back, even if it is a short reunion. So I know that most of you did not like the ending to the first Inner Strength. Know that I made it for a few reasons, which one of them was because I did have a few ideas for a sequel. However due to some recent incidents it has been extremely hard for me to jot down these ideas. Now that I was able to finally write down what I had in mind, I'm not exactly sure if I'm even going to be able to continue it, let alone finish it.**

**Since no one cares to read my profile before submitting comments on my stories, I'll explain this here: I have enlisted in the United States army. Obviously once I get shipped off I will not have any time on my hands to really do anything besides what the military wants me to do, which is why no one should expect me to finish this story.**

**Now I do not mind other people writing down their ideas for a sequel, I really don't. Just know that all OFFICIAL work will be right here in this story under my penname. If you think you can write a chapter to this story better than me and show it to me, then I may concider placing it as the offical story page itself (all credit WILL go to the author that wrote said chapter).**

**Finally before going off to this story please know that life has not been good with me and I have not written anything since the last chapter of Inner Strength. Obviously things are not going to flow well and sentences may not be completely grammatically correct. Give me some slack and enjoy what I was able to jot down.**

**God bless!**

Inner Strength: Time Heals

Part one

_Your time is here, little one._

_It's time to wake up. It's time to start your own journey._

_It's time for you to change the world._

_For better, or for worse. . ._

_So now wake up, little one._

_Your time has come._

The first thought that popped into my head was just a simple word: What? That had to have been the weirdest dream I have ever had, and I have had my share of weird dreams.

I didn't bother to open my eyes, even though I was awake. Instead I first went through my waking up routine: stretch out my arms and legs, let out a good long yawn, and then scratch the top of my head. Only then did I rub my eyes until they finally opened, the sleep in my eyes always getting in the way.

The sun blazed into my room as I opened up my eyes, shining directly in my face. I had to cover my eyes with one of my arms just to avoid myself from growing blind. Usually the sunlight would wake me up, either that or Uncle would walk in and shake me awake. I must have been dead tired last night to sleep in for so long.

I didn't think much of it and hopped out of bed, my feet landing on the cold tile floor. A slight shiver crawled from my feet up to my spine after feeling the tiles. Uncle says that it's more "sanitary" to have these kinds of floors, but I still remember the day when I got to try carpets and oh man do I already miss the feeling of that against my toes.

Well I guess wishers can't be choosers. As I walked over to the door to my bedroom, I tried to remember what day it was. Was it Tuesday? I could've sworn it was Monday. If it is Tuesday then that means I have class today, but if it's Monday then that means that I get to see Grandpa.

Reaching up, I grab the doorknob to my room and turn it. I never liked being short, makes everything harder for me but at least I am tall enough to reach the knob. Pushing the door open, I walk out of my room and into my uncle's workplace.

My uncle is this big science wiz, it's his job and it's his life. For as long as I can remember he's been busy with his work: researching this and researching that, studying this and studying that. Because it is his life, my uncle lives in his laboratory so he never has to stop working. Since my uncle lives here then so do I. It's not exactly a bad thing; it does have its ups and downs, but it just gets so boring here. The few times my uncle isn't working, he's busy giving me lessons in class.

That's another thing he loves to do: teach. My uncle likes to call me a "genius" and that I have some kind of "gift". I don't know about any of that, I never understand half of the things that old man talks about anyway. I do okay in math, I have always had trouble with writing, and science I'm only interested when it's a topic I like. Luckily for me, my uncle researches Pokemon, which is what he loves to talk about and is my favorite topic to hear about. My uncle says I get that from my father.

Walking out to his laboratory, I was surprised to not see my uncle working. Usually he would already be up and toiling around his workplace, but today I found him sitting in front of one of the flat screen monitors watching what looked to be the news.

"Several reports have been coming in about multiple bank robberies happening all around the globe, resulting in a universal freeze on banking accounts. The Veridian National Bank, United Banking, and the Lee Harvey Bank have all claimed that customers may access their accounts once they have, and I quote, 'regain control of the situation'. Coming to you live from Cerulean City, here is-"

I never pay too much attention to the news. It's the same thing every day: bad guys doing this, weather doing that. Shifting my attention from the monitor to my uncle, I made my way over to the old scientist. Whatever was on the news really had his attention; the man didn't even hear me walk up next to him. I had to clear my throat loudly to announce my presence.

The old man blinked then turned around in his swivel chair and smiled when he saw me. "Well good morning! How did you sleep?"

I shrugged softly. "Okay I guess, but I had the weirdest dream ever."

"Oh? Was it a nightmare?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It wasn't bad, exactly, it was just . . . different, I guess."

"Ah I see. We all get those kinds of dreams now and then," said my uncle. He turned back to the monitor, turned it off, then turned back to face me. "Alright, do you know what day it is?"

I shook my head again. "No . . . it's Tuesday, isn't it?" I let out a sigh. I was not in the mood for another lecture from Uncle. "What are we talking about today?"

My uncle looked surprised at me. He leaned down on his chair to look at me straight in the eye. "You really don't know what day it is? Today is a very special day for you."

For an instant there, my uncle was sounding exactly like my dream from the night before. Again I shook my head, though I did so in a more hesitant way. My uncle leaned back up in his chair and stood up.

"How could you forget? Today is your birthday, my dear child."

I blinked. Was it really? Did I really lose track of time that I forgot my own birthday?

Uncle smiled again, kneeling down to my level. "You look surprised," he said.

"Well . . . I just . . ."

The old man let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "Oh don't worry about it. Here, I got you a cake, but your grandfather wants to see you before I give it to you. You know where to find him, correct?"

My grandpa wanted to see me? Now after hearing that today was my birthday, I was getting excited. Maybe Grandpa got me a present or something; and the sound of cake . . . oh my mouth was already starting to water from the mere thought of it. I quickly nodded to my uncle, telling him that I knew where to find Grandpa, and ran out the back before the old man could say anything back.

Today was my birthday! I can't believe that I actually forgot about it! I was immediately filled with excitement about the day: no class, no work, eating cake all day, and maybe even getting something from Grandpa! Today was going to be a great day, no doubt about it.

Running up to the back door, I nearly pounced up at the doorknob, turning it as I was moving forward. Flinging the door open, I lunged outside, not even bothering to close the door behind me. The laboratory's back yard was placed for all of the Pokemon that was being studied or being held for other trainers or scientists to stay. Any other day when my lessons were done, I would spend some time with the Pokemon and with my mom, but today I was too excited. I could always talk to the Pokemon another time.

Leaping over the fence that bordered the Pokemon area, I ran towards the river of the town. Grandpa was always at the river; for some reason he liked staying there. We would always meet there so I knew the path to the river by heart.

Sure enough, as I came up to the river's head I saw my grandpa meditating at its edge. Running up to my grandfather's side, I poked his arm while saying, "Hey Grandpa! You wanted to see me?"

I knew he didn't like me messing with him while he was meditating, but I loved to do it. I could even see a hint of a smile along his face when I poked him.

My grandpa sat cross-legged on the ground with his arms on either of his bent knees, his eyes closed all the while. For a moment or two, the only part of his body that moved was his chest from his breathing, but soon Grandpa let out a loud yawn and stretched out his legs. From there he rubbed his eyes and looked over at me, smiling softly.

"You know you shouldn't do that," he said to me, still smiling even though he was trying to sound serious.

"I know, I know, but I'm excited!" I explained, bouncing up and down a bit. "What do you do out here all day anyhow?"

My grandpa shrugged, looking out into the river. "I just . . . think, I guess."

"Think about what?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

Again my grandfather shrugged his shoulders. "About everything, really. I don't get to do this with other people of my kind, so I do it whenever I can by myself."

"You act like you're a dying species, Grandpa."

"Perhaps I am," chuckled Grandpa. He smiled again and turned his body to face me. "I take it that Oak told you to see me?"

I nodded my head excitedly. "Yep, he told me you had something for me."

My grandpa made a face that looked like he was raising an eyebrow. "He did? I told that man that I wanted to see you, not that I wanted to give you something."

At that, my excitement depleted. "Oh . . . so you're not going to give me a present?"

For about a second, my grandpa looked as if he was going to apologize for not giving me anything, but just like that he smiled. "I never said that I wasn't going to give you something either, now did I?"

"Wait, so then do I get a present or not?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my grandfather.

He smiled at me and gave a sarcastic shrug. "What if I just want to tell my grandson 'happy birthday'?" After that he gave a soft laugh, extending his arms out towards me. "Give your grandpa a hug and I might give you something."

I smiled back and embraced my grandfather, my short little arms not even able to completely wrap around his body. We stayed in that hug for a few seconds, even when I let go of my grandfather, he still held onto me tightly. "Um . . . Grandpa? You can let go of me now."

"Oh, sorry!" he said, finally releasing me from his arms. "I just can't believe how much you have grown. Already ten years old!"

"I know," I said, smiling up at him. "If Uncle would let me, I could go out and start training Pokemon like those people on TV."

My grandpa let out a soft sigh, nodding his head. "Well Oak knows what he is doing. He worries about you, plus you still have much more to learn from him."

"But I can learn so much more if I'm out there!" I complained. "I'm tired of sitting here, Grandpa. Today I'm ten years old and I felt like I haven't done anything with my life yet."

My grandfather let out another sigh and placed one of his black paws on my back. "It's okay, I know the feeling. You are still so young and the world is a big place. Don't worry, your time will come." I wanted to say something back to that, maybe to add on to what he said, but my grandfather rose up his other paw to my face to hush me. "Alright now do you want your present?"

My face lit up with a smile as I eagerly nodded my head, already making assumptions as to what the present could be.

Grandpa smiled back and told me to close my eyes and hold my arms out. I did so and waiting for something. I could hear some ruffling against the grass, and then I felt something pressed into one of my paws.

"Alright, open up your eyes, Xander."

I opened my eyes and looked down at my paws. It was a flower, a pink flower, but it looked as if it was made out of glass. I looked at it closer, turning it to its side, and I could barely see a feint blue glow at its center.

Before I could ask what it was, my grandfather spoke. "Use this whenever you need to talk to me. If anything happens, for whatever reason, use this and I will know how to find you and I can talk to you no matter how far away you are."

I looked up at my grandfather, then back down at the flower. "What is it?"

"It's a very rare flower, one that uses Aura. Lucario such as me sometimes use them to record messages or record certain instances in their lives. I, however, found a flower that somehow helps Aura users with their communication," explained my grandfather.

I turned the flower over, looking closely at the glowing blue center it had. "Well . . . wow, I don't know what to say, Grandpa. Thank you so much!" I went up to him and gave him a hug, still holding onto the flower as I embraced my Lucario grandfather.

Grandpa returned the hug to me, then let go of me to look straight into my eyes. "Alright now go have some fun, but be sure to be back at Oak's before sundown, alright? You don't want to miss out on your cake, do you?"

I shook my head, thanking my grandfather again for the present. I moved away from my grandpa and turned around to head back to my uncle's lab, holding the flower in my arms as I walked back.

* * *

><p>After I put the flower in my bedroom, the rest of the day went by pretty quickly, or so that's what it felt like. I guess that tends to happen when you are having fun: time flies by. Of course I got to eat my cake, but only after I had to sit through my uncle singing the Happy Birthday song. The cake was vanilla, my favorite flavor of course. After I ate almost all of the cake, Uncle allowed me to go play with the Pokemon on the reserve, which was where I spent just about the majority of my day.<p>

I always love playing with the Pokemon there. For some reason, I feel like I relate to the Pokemon more than anyone else, especially more than my uncle. I could spend all of my life with these wonderful creatures; just playing with them and talking to them.

However the one Pokemon I always look forward to is my mom, whom I had to see before it got too late. My mother was always the loving kind, though sometimes a little too loving. I can't tell you how long she wants to hug me whenever we meet up on the reserve; it almost gets a little embarrassing when around the other Pokemon.

I looked for her around the field after I waved goodbye to a group of Eevee I was just playing with. Finding my mom was sometimes as hard as finding a needle in a haystack, though I guess it's because she is green.

"Bay!" I turned towards the sound. Sure enough, it came from my mother. The Bayleef was laying herself down on the grass, calling out to me once she spotted me. I ran over to her, told her hi, and gave her a hug. She returned the hug, using her vines as a means of doing so, then licked me on my forehead.

"Mom! Stop that," I said, wiping the saliva off of my head.

She giggled a bit and then just gave me another lick, much to my annoyance. "I have to make you look at least somewhat good, Xan," she said, smiling brightly to me.

I wiped my head again and looked up to her. "Aren't you going to tell me 'happy birthday'?"

My mother smiled again and wrapped her vines around my body for another hug. "Happy birthday, Xander. You are growing too fast for me to keep up."

I returned the hug, rubbing my cheek against her long neck. "Thanks, Mom."

She rubbed her check against the top of my head. I could hear her throat hum as she showed me this affection, warming me up. When we finally parted, she crossed her front two legs and laid her head on them, still looking at me. "So tell me, Xander: what do you want for your birthday?"

"What do I want? I don't know," I said, sitting myself down to think about it. "Can I ask for another cake?"

My mother giggled at that and shook her head. "No, darling. You shouldn't be eating so much unhealthy stuff anyhow. Now come on, tell your mother what you would like."

Something that I would like? I stopped to think about it. I love getting presents, but I never did really want anything in particular.

No . . . I take that back. There is something that I have always wanted to know.

"Mom, could you tell me how my dad died?"

This question, similar to all of the other times I have asked it, brought my mother's face down to an almost depressing look. "We have talked about this, Xan. You know I don't like to discuss it."

"I do know, but . . . there has to be more to it, right? There has to be more than just a car wreck."

"I'm sorry, my son, but that is the story. I wish there was more to it too, but that's just how it was," explained my mother.

I stood myself up and looked at my mom straight into the eyes. She, as always, looked away from me whenever this topic was brought up. "Stop lying to me, Mom. I know you are hiding something. Why can't you just tell me? Why can't anyone tell me?"

She shook her head, still looking away from me. "I'm sorry, Xander, but I can't."

"So there is more!" I exclaimed. "He didn't die in a car wreck, did he? How did it really happen? Who was he? What was he like?"

I would've asked more questions, but I stopped as I saw my mother burst into tears. She was crying and shaking her head, as if she was fighting a thought away. See looked back up at me, eyes filled with tears, and said, "You are so special, Xander. So very special."

"You have told me this," I said, trying to not sound demanding. "But please, Mom, tell me about my dad. I'm ten years old now and I still don't know anything! Please, Mom."

My mom closed her eyes, trying her best to hold back any more tears. She sniffled a few times, took in a deep breath, and then stood her neck up to look down at me. "You are a very special being, Xander. You have abilities that you don't even know about and you have potential that is beyond my imagination."

I blinked a few times at hearing this. "What . . . what are you talking about, Mom? I want to hear about my dad."

"I am not your mother," she said, taking in another deep breath. "Your real mother is the one that is dead."

This took me by surprise. I mean, I could sense that there was a difference from me and my mother, but to hear this from her knocked me off guard. For a few seconds I was speechless, I didn't know what to say or what to do. Then it hit me: my real mother is dead, so then does that mean that my father is still alive? I asked my "mother" this along with asking for more information about my real mother.

But the Bayleef just shook her head. "I have already said too much. However, I will tell you this, my son." She leaned her head back down and towards me, almost pressing her nose against my own from being so close. "You are not human, but you are not a Pokemon either, Xander."

"Wh-what?" I stammered. I wasn't human? "But . . . Uncle told me-"

"Look at your hands, Xander. What do you see?" she interrupted, nudging my arms.

I pulled up my paws and opened them up. "I see my paws," I said.

"Humans do not have paws, sweetheart, and they are never yellow."

"But . . . Uncle told me that it was-"

"Do not believe everything from your uncle," she interrupted again, shaking her head. "He tells you these things in order to protect you and keep you safe." The Bayleef took in a deep breath. "On the outside, sweetheart, you look like a Pokemon; a Pichu to be exact. That is why you have not grown much, because your body is at its fullest height."

"I'm . . . I'm a Pichu?" I asked. I looked down at my paws, but more closely now. Uncle once taught me about Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu, but only once and never again. I never even got to see a picture of what one looked like. So then . . . could it be true? "But . . . how?"

"You are special, Xander. On the outside you are a Pokemon, but on the inside you are a human. You have learned so much that I cannot even comprehend it, and your eyes." She stopped when she said that. She leaned her head so that she could look straight into my eyes. "You have his eyes. Every time I see you, you remind me of him, my Ash."

"Ash?" I asked. "Who is Ash?"

The Bayleef that I formally called my mother looked off into the sky, ignoring my question. "It's getting late. It's time for you to go to bed now, Xander."

"But I still have so many questions!" I begged her. The Bayleef did not answer, but just pushed me away with her head, continuously telling me to go to bed.

* * *

><p>Ash . . . who could that be? The name sounded somewhat familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before. I can't imagine where, though.<p>

I waved good night to my uncle and walked into my bedroom, closing the door behind me. "Boy what a day," I said to myself, walking over to my bed. Reaching over for the covers, I pulled them back, but paused as my eyes came upon a small red box with a red bow on top of it. Another present?

Curious, I grabbed the box, took off the bow, and ripped it open. I looked inside to see an old black Pokedex sitting on the very bottom. Pulling out the Pokedex, I looked it over: it was in the shape of a rectangle, had the blue camera lens on its top, and had a flap to open it. I opened the Pokedex and as soon as I did the device started talking to me.

"Hello Xander Taran Ketchum, my name is Dexter." The Pokedex spoke in a monotone computer voice, taking slight pauses between each word as it spoke.

"It knows my name?" I said, astonished. This must be a gift from Uncle; he probably programmed it to already have my name in it. "Well hello there, Dexter. Um, how are you?"

But the device didn't say anything back. I suppose it was stupid to think that I could actually have a conversation with a computer, but I felt like I was supposed to say something back. I looked along the device's insides, examining the countless buttons it had along with the blank screen in the middle.

Then a thought came up to me. I remembered what my mom had told me just earlier. . .

I pointed the Pokedex at myself and held it still. For a few seconds nothing happened, the black Pokedex just stayed quiet. I turned the Pokedex back around and looked at the screen, and sure enough it began talking as if it was waiting for me to watch it.

"Pichu: the tiny mouse Pokemon, pre-evolved form of Pikachu. The electric pouches on its cheeks are still small. They cannot store much electricity yet."

My paws began to shake a bit as soon as Dexter said the word "Pichu". So it is true, I have been a Pokemon this whole time and never knew about it.

"They lied to me," I whispered to myself, my paws still shaking as I held onto the Pokedex. Mom told me that I was human, that I was still a little boy growing up that was born with a fascination towards Pokemon. Grandpa told me that I was a kid with special parents, that everyone else had parents like mine. Uncle even tried to sound scientific about it; he explained that I would be having a growth spurt soon and that the children in this area all had yellow skin when they were my age. "They lied to me!"

Anger swelled up inside of me. I gripped onto the Pokedex and threw it against the wall in my fury. A loud crack emitted from the wall, already telling me that my present was broken.

As soon as I threw the Pokedex, I regretted it. Walking over to where it fell, I saw that it was broken in half, some of the plastic pieces scattered around. I got down and tried to scoop it all up into my paws, cleaning up the mess, but one of the pieces must've had a sharp edge to it for it cut into one of my fingers. Yelping quietly in pain, I dropped what was left of the Pokedex and looked at my finger. It was bleeding, the cut clearly going through my skin. I popped the finger into my mouth and sucked on the blood, hoping that my saliva would make the pain go away faster.

I didn't bother trying to pick up the Pokedex again; mainly for fear that I might cut myself again. I would have to go get a broom or something, but I just wanted to go to bed. I could always do this tomorrow.

With that, I headed off to bed and went to sleep, occasionally sucking on my finger whenever it started to hurt.

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes, but everything was dark. I closed my eyes, but it was just as dark as opening them. Were my eyes really closed or were they open?<p>

"Xander."

I knew that voice. That was the one from my dream! Quickly, I turned myself around, hoping that my eyes were actually open. There in front of me was this tall figure that was completely covered in a black cloak and a black hood. I could only guess from the stature and the shape of this person that he was a man, though I could not see his face at all. Every part of his body was covered in something, making everything about him concealed.

"Who are you?" was the first thing to come out of my mouth but was soon followed by "Where am I?" and "How did I get here?"

"I go by many names," said the hooded man, moving his hands behind his back. "You can call me Artemis. As for where this is: this is my own conscious mind; I have brought you here to speak with you."

"I'm in your head?" I asked, looking around. "But how did you bring me here? How is this even possible?"

"Whenever you fall asleep, your body moves from the conscious state to a subconscious state. I, in simple terms, got a hold of your conscious mind and brought it here in my own so that we may speak. To go into explanation about how this is all possible would be too much for you to understand; the mere ability to do this is not explainable, as in there are no words that I could use to express it."

I crossed my arms as I looked up at the figure. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Why, like I said before: I wanted to speak with you. As for whom I am: I have told you that as well, I am Artemis. I have spoken with you before."

My eyes grew wide from this confirmation. "So that was you in my dream!"

The hooded man nodded. "Yes, and this is what I want to talk to you about. You have no doubt learned some new things about yourself, have you not?"

I tilted my head to the side slightly. "I might have."

"Then this should not be of surprise to you: you are not a Pokemon, Xander, but neither are you a human. You are, should we say, something in between."

I blinked in disbelief. "How do you know this? How do you know about me?"

"In a way, I am your father, but not by blood. If it wasn't for me, then you would have never existed. Your very DNA was a creation by my hands alone." I had opened my mouth to object to such a claim, but Artemis waved his hand and continued on. "You may not believe me now, but we are getting off topic. You have a very important task ahead of you, little one."

"A task?" I asked, crossing my arms again. "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Oh, it is not for me, little one, it is a task that this world needs for you to do."

"The whole world? Right, yeah okay if that were true then why don't you do it? You are the one claiming to be a god and whatnot, saying that you 'created' me. If you're as powerful as you say you are then why don't you go and save the world?" I asked, happy with my response.

Artemis shook his hooded head. "This is not a task for me. I seek knowledge and nothing more. You will give me great knowledge by completing this task; for if I were to embark on this then I would learn nothing. Now listen and listen closely, little one." With a wave of his hand, a small white orb floated out of the black ground, popping up as if it had been waiting to expose some light into the darkness. The orb floated towards me and as it came closer I could make out soft images in its light.

The first images that I could see showed four small weeds in a huge garden, each evenly placed across the massive field. One weed had little red flowers spurting from it, one had blue flowers along it, one had black flowers on it, and the last weed had gray flowers on it.

"Now there will be four organizations that will seek to harm this world, some of which you may have already heard of from before. These organizations may seem like a small weed, pestering around to become an inconvenience, but do not be fooled for like the weeds that they are they will grow quickly and become more powerful." As Artemis said that, the weeds in the image started to grow taller and wider, soon crowding out the massive field before my eyes. "Already these organizations are strong and mighty, having had time on their side to recuperate and rebuild. Each of these organizations wants one thing: power, however there is only so much power to gain." As the weeds continued to grow outwards, they began to bump into each other. Some of the weeds tried to grow on top of the other with their roots while other weeds branched out, looking as if they were stabbing the other weeds with their wines. "They will want to destroy each other, but in doing so will destroy everything else in their path." As the weeds fought, their roots kept growing, killing all of the other flowers and plants in the massive garden, draining them from their water or stabbing through their stems with their massive roots and vines. Before long the entire garden was covered with the four weeds.

I looked away from the orb, trying my best not to picture the plants as people. "This can't be true. You have to do something; you can't just let people die like this! If you know what is going to happen then stop it before it happens!"

"This, I am afraid, is inevitable," said Artemis, moving the orb away from my face. "I once thought that I could stop it, but in doing so all I found I could do was delay it. The world will be engulfed in war, but let that not distract you. Remember: this cannot be changed, war is not an option. You will have moments were it will seem that you can stop this war from happening, but you must stay vigilant; do not tread away from your path."

"You're telling me to not stop this war?" I asked, bewildered a bit from all of the information. "If a war is happening, then of course I want to stop it! War kills people! People will die if I completely ignore very chance I am given to stop this war."

Again Artemis shook his hooded head. "I tell you once more: this war is inevitable. Trying to stop it will only use up time and energy. Your task is not in this war, but it is in the outcome of it."

The white orb floated upwards above Artemis's head, then exploded into the air, filling up what would've been the ceiling with an image of a starry night. In the middle of that night sky was a small black dot. I watched it closely and noticed that the dot began to grow. The black dot grew wider and wider until the whole night sky was engulfed in darkness, then the rest of the image also blackened out.

"A black hole," I said, looking back down at Artemis. "Are you saying that this war will bring a black hole?"

Artemis nodded his head. "If nothing is done then a black hole will destroy this world and many others. During this war an organization (at this time I do not know which) will grow desperate and will seek other ways of destroying their enemies. They will find a way to create their own artificial black hole and will defeat their opponents, but in their greed will destroy everything they had been fighting for as well. This is what you must avoid, little one. The war may be inevitable but the black hole can be stopped, you must find a way to stop this future from becoming present."

"Me? But why me? I'm just a Pichu, I just turned ten years old! I can't stop a black hole!" I complained. "Why can't you do this?"

"I have told you: I seek knowledge. If I were to take on this task then I would learn nothing from it, but if you embark on this quest then there will be much to learn from your travels."

"You're telling me that you will let hundreds of people die so you can learn something rather than saving them?" My paws curled up into fists. This guy was crazy! If all of this was true, then this man was insane. He could care less about the lives of others when it came to his stupid obsession over learning something.

Artemis made a movement with his body that I couldn't make out. Did he sigh? "If you embark on this quest then not only will I learn from it but you shall learn from it as well. This journey will teach you about yourself and your heritage."

My paws uncurled themselves. What did he mean by that? "My heritage?" I asked.

"I knew your father, Xander. He is still alive and well." At hearing this, my heart began to race. So it was true: my father is alive! "You will meet him when you take on this task, however I do warn you not to become distracted from learning about his whereabouts. Remember: your task is to find this organization and stop it from creating a black hole, _not_ to stop this war from coming and _not_ to find your father. Doing so will only cost you time, which is very limited as it is."

"Then what about my mother?" I asked. I remembered what Bayleaf had told me about my real mother, but I was hoping that it was not true. "Will you tell me where she is?"

Artemis stayed quiet for a moment and then made that same movement as before. "She passed away long ago, young Xander."

At that my hope diminished. My mom is dead . . . I never got to even meet her. I don't know anything about her except for the fact that she died. "Was it . . . painful?" I asked, taking in a deep breath.

Artemis tilted his head slightly to the side. "Was what painful?"

I took in a deep breath, trying my best to control myself as I talked. "Her death . . . did she suffer?"

Artemis took a few steps closer to me and laid a hand against my head. "She died trying to save you and your father, little one."

I let out my held breath, feeling my eyes starting to water up. I closed them shut and wiped them dry, taking in a few deep breaths to try to calm myself down.

The hooded man kneeled down in front of me, shifting his hand from the top of my head over to my shoulder. "It is time for you to go now, Xander. Remember what I have said before, for if I have not said it enough then I will say it once more: this upcoming war is inevitable, as in it cannot be stopped. You will come across parts in your journey where it will seem like you can stop this war and save many lives, but know that they are only distractions and will lead to nothing more than wasting precious time. Also know that you will meet your father, but do not search for him for you will not find him; instead let him come to you. However, when you do meet with your father, know that he will not recognize you. You may tell him that you are his son, but he will deny it for he does not know about you. Finally, the last thing for you to know is that you have great potential. The abilities stored inside of your body can make even Arceus tremble in fear; however the only way you can use these abilities is to activate them."

I took in another breath, wiping my eyes clean one last time before answering. "Activate them? How do I do that?"

"Electricity," said Artemis, patting my shoulder firmly with his gloved hand.

"But I haven't learned how to use electricity. I don't even know how to battle yet, I just found out that I'm a Pichu!"

"Do not worry, little one. If you need any help, you have your grandfather's flower. Keep it with you always; it has more use to it than the Lucario knows of." Artemis stood up and turned around. He took a few steps away until I shouted at him to stop.

"You're putting too much responsibility on me!" I complained to the man. "What if I can't do this? What if I fail?"

The hooded man took a few more steps, then turned back around to face. He gave me a small wave then placed both of his arms behind his back. "If you fail, Xander, then all life in the universe will cease to exist."

And with that, Artemis brought up one of his hands and snapped his fingers.

_Remember the black Pokédex._

_Use it only when you need it most, for it can only be used once._

**Again, I know there were some things wrong but please give me some slack. I may try to make another chapter, but there are no promises! Also, if you do think you can write chapter 2 to Inner Strength: Time Heals then please write it and send it to me in via note or email but please do this before I write the second chapter. Obviously if chapter 2 has been put up then that means that no one else should be still writing chapter 2!**

**I would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement, it is because of you that I have wirtten this. God bless us all and God bless America.**


	2. Chapter 2

Inner Strength: Time Heals

Part 2

I opened up my eyes. What just happened? Was that a dream? I sat myself up on my bed and looked out the window to my side. The world seemed peaceful, nice and sunny, not even a single cloud in the sky. For a place that was supposed to be at the verge of war, it seemed just too cheery.

Maybe it was just a dream, I thought to myself. Turning away from the window, I slid myself off of my bed, shivering as I felt those cold tiles against my feet. Looking over to the side of my bed, I saw the glass flower that my grandfather gave to me. At least that part was not a dream.

Walking up to the flower, I picked it up. It had not changed, it was still just as glossy as before, the only exception being that there was a small black spot on it. I thought it was just some dirt so I tried to wipe it off with my paw, but it stayed there. I looked closer, moving the flower closer to my head, but as I moved the flower the black spot seemed to move as well.

Blinking, I felt like an idiot. It wasn't dirt, it was a reflection. Turning my head, my eyes grew wide as I realized what the reflection was of. It was the black Pokédex, laying there on the floor, only this time it was not broken.

Placing the flower down on the floor, I made my way over to the Pokédex and picked it up. I turned it over in my paws, examining it further. There wasn't a scratch, a crack, or anything showing that it was broken before.

"Was . . . was this part of the dream too?" I asked myself, still looking at the Pokédex. Then I remembered how I hurt myself while trying to clean it up. Placing the Pokédex in my other paw, I examined my finger. It had a very small red dot, a scab.

The world seemed to collapse around me. That wasn't a dream, it was real!

"No, no! That's just…coincidence," I tried to reassure myself, tossing the Pokédex down as if it was on fire. This was all too weird for me; I needed to stop talking to myself. Perhaps my uncle could shed some light for me.

I hurried myself out of my room, not even bothering to close the door behind me. It did not take me long to find my uncle. The old man was huddled again against one of the television monitors.

"Mayor McMullen gave his speech late yesterday, talking about the many robberies that have been happening worldwide. He urges citizens to keep track of their money but to not panic with it and to try, and I quote, 'to avoid another depression'. The mayor reassures citizens that federal officers are being vigilant and that it is only a matter of time until these criminals are behind bars, but he does ask that citizens continue to stay indoors or to stay in large groups when walking about."

Walking up to my uncle, I tugged on his white coat. The motion seemed to have startled the old man, nearly jumping out of his skin from my simple tug. My uncle clutched at his chest, looking down at me while shaking his head. "Oh, Xander. Boy, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry, Uncle," I said, returning my gaze to the television. "What are they talking about?"

"What? Oh that's just nonsense, nothing to worry about," said the old man, reaching up towards the monitor and turning it off with a press of his finger. My uncle sighed and sat down in a nearby seat, turning to face me. "So I can see you're up and awake now. Did you sleep well?"

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about, Uncle." I said, stepping back a bit to look up at the old man.

My uncle's eyebrows rose slightly, showing a hint of surprise. "Oh? Well what's wrong, Xander? You know that I am here to listen."

I let out a soft sigh. "I know, I know. I just . . . keep having these weird dreams."

"Another weird dream?" asked the professor, turning himself back to his desk, seeming to dismiss that I was talking about something important. "Well you have to remember, Xander, that these are just dreams. They're not real and they don't affect you. We all get quite confusing dreams at times."

I nodded my head. "I know, I know, but this one felt so real. It had this guy that had this black cloak on and this hood that covered his face."

As soon as I said that, the professor stopped whatever he was doing. He didn't turn to face me, but just stayed held in place. "Did . . . did this 'guy' tell you what his name was?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "He said to call him 'Artemis'."

For a few moments everything was quiet. The old professor just stayed at his desk, looking down at nothing. I would've taken him for a well painted statue if it wasn't for his breathing.

After what felt like an eternity, my uncle took a deep sigh and turned back to face me. His eyes looked wary, as if he suddenly aged another twenty years from just sitting there.

"I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do," started the professor. "However, before I do, tell me what Artemis told you in this dream."

And so I told him about my dream. My uncle listened intently, not even blinking as I talked. He seemed to believe everything I said, even the parts that I would've considered to be questionable. Once I was done, my uncle finally blinked, showing me how truly worn out he was.

"So . . . it seems like he wants another experiment," stated the old man, leaning back in his chair. "Xander, did Artemis offer anything to you? This could be something to drink, something to eat, some sort of object, anything?"

I couldn't help but to stare back at my uncle in disbelief. "Do you . . . you actually believe this? I thought you said it was just a dream."

"Please, Xander, answer my question."

With a sigh I shook my head. "No, he didn't get me anything." Then I paused, reconsidering my words. "Well wait, never mind. He did give me a Pokédex."

My uncle urged me to show it to him, so I went back to my room to retrieve the device and show it to him. The old professor looked at the black Pokédex with great curiosity, turning it over and opening it up. I watched my uncle examine it, blinking as the device turned on and said my name. Once the Pokédex was done talking, I asked the professor, "Uncle? What is going on?"

Again, the old man sighed. He closed the Pokédex and set it down on his desk. "Me and Artemis go back. He used to be one of my assistants during my younger years in being a professor. He and I learned much from each other, much more than I would have learned had I worked with anyone else." And he continued on, telling me about his past with this old assistant of his. He told me how they experimented on Pokémon, trying to turn them into something "better". My uncle told me how they kept pushing their limits, even harming some Pokémon along the way. "After that I just wanted to stop, I could not bear seeing another life ruined, but Artemis wanted to continue on. He said that he wanted to try these same experiments on other humans. As soon as I heard that I shut everything down; I released the Pokémon we had on standby and I euthanized the ones that we failed on. This enraged Artemis and he left my office that day, since then I have never seen him."

"So then this is all real," I said, mainly to myself. "But what does this have to do with me? Why did Artemis choose me to go . . . go 'save the world'?"

"That is thanks to your grandfather, I am afraid," stated my uncle. "I am sure you have found this all out on your own, but I am not your actual uncle. The only person that you have come in contact with all this time that is actually related to you is your grandfather, the Lucario."

"So Grandpa is actually my grandfather? But I'm still confused, how does this have to do with anything?"

"If I remember your grandfather's story correctly, he spent a large portion of his time with a female trainer, your grandmother. He fell in love with her, however he was a Lucario and she was a human. Somehow Artemis found out about this and offered to help Lucario." Again, the old professor sighed and leaned back in his chair. "While he was human, Lucario helped your grandmother give birth to your father. However, Lucario turned back into a Lucario shortly after and ran in fear of what your grandmother would think. Your father was raised in this same town you are in right now; he even became a trainer like his mother."

"Wait you talk to trainers all the time, did you see my father?" I asked, hopeful.

The old man nodded. "Yes, I did. I even gave him his first Pokémon. I keep in touch with him from time to time."

My mouth almost watered at hearing this. "Y-you keep in touch with him? And you haven't told me!"

"I wasn't allowed to, Xander," explained the professor.

"What do you mean? Did your mom ground you or something?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Xander, please," said the professor, rising up a hand. "Let me explain. Your father also eventually met Artemis, but not the same way Lucario did. Artemis turned your father into a Pikachu who, in turn, found a female Pikachu. Shortly after, you came into existence, Xan." The professor lowered his hand and placed it on his lap. "Your father went on quite an adventure while taking care of you. He did some amazing things too, but in the end Artemis split you two apart. He told me and everyone else to never tell you about your father."

"Artemis . . . Artemis did this?" I asked, my body starting to shake. "Artemis made sure I could not see my father? But why listen to him? What is the worst that he can do?"

"Xander," repeated the professor. "You do not know how powerful Artemis has become. The feats he has accomplished simply astound me! He has learned to somehow ignore the laws of physics, erase full memories from people's minds, and of course turn someone into something else completely. I knew that if I had said anything to you that he may harm me and others here and if not he might have taken you away. I did not want that to happen."

"But then why?" I pleaded. I wasn't so sure about this Artemis guy being as strong as my uncle claimed him to be, but my main concern was with my father. "Why keep me from my dad? Has my father ever called to ask about me?"

The old man shook his head. "When Artemis split the two of you apart, he erased your father's memories. He doesn't remember ever having you at all, I am afraid. As for why Artemis did this in the first place I am not too sure. I think it had to do with your father's journey being a Pokémon trainer. Artemis, for whatever reason, did not want to disrupt your father's journey. He must have thought that if you were in the equation that your father would've stopped his journey altogether."

My mind sort of shut down after the professor said "he doesn't remember ever having you at all". I didn't even bother listening to the explanation. My dad doesn't remember me . . . he doesn't even know me, doesn't even know that he has a son. Then I remembered what Artemis told me in my dream_. Know that you will meet your father._ So then I will at least be able to see my father!

"You said you spoke to my dad. When was the last time you talked to him?" I demanded.

The professor blinked. I suppose my sudden change of topic caught him off guard. "I just talked to him two days ago, actually."

At that I wanted to jump in front of the old man's face. "Where is he? Where can I find him?"

"Xander," breathed the professor. "Your father is on the other side of the world right now. It will take you weeks, if not months, to get from here to there. Plus, I'm not even sure if you should embark on that journey just to find him, for did not Artemis tell you specifically not to look for him?"

I wanted to say something, but then thought against it_. Do not search for him for you will not find him; instead let him come to you._ Artemis' words echoed in my head. "But I got to find him! I want to at least see him at least once," I begged.

"Artemis told you that your father will come to you, not the other way around. The best thing to do is to simply wait," said the old man.

"But what if he's wrong? What if I just sit here forever and never get to see him by the time this war goes on? What then?" I let out a pout and crossed my arms. "I'm going Uncle. You can either help me or ignore me, but I am going either way." The professor opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, anticipating what he was going to say. "Look, what else do I have? If this Artemis is right about the world going into some huge war, where am I going to start? If I just stay here then I won't get anything done, if I leave then at least I know where to start." I took one last breath and looked up into the old man's eyes. "Please Uncle. All I have been doing my whole life is just . . . sitting here. I haven't been able to see the outside world or anyone outside of this stupid laboratory! Please Uncle, let me go."

The professor looked back into my eyes. It seemed like we were in some sort of staring contest for the longest time, but finally he blinked and let out a long sigh. "You remind me so much of your father. I suppose it does make sense that you want to leave so badly." He turned on his chair to face his desk. "Alright, you can go. I can give you all of the items you need, but only on one condition."

"What would that be?" I asked, my arms still crossed.

"You cannot go alone. Your father started off his journey by himself, but he was human. You, on the other hand, are a talking Pichu. You will gain quite an amount of attention if you were just wondering around in the middle of towns and public areas. You need to have someone go with you."

"Someone go with me?" I asked, mainly to myself. "But who would want to go with me?"

The professor seemed to chuckle at my question. He scribbled down something onto a sheet of paper on his desk, and then turned his head towards me. "Oh the Bayleaf outside simply cannot stay away from you. She is a very good fighter and I am almost certain that she will be more than willing to accompany you wherever you go."

Didn't think about Mom, though I would've thought it would be a little awkward to have her around me everywhere. But the professor was right; whether or not I liked it I would need some kind of help along the way. I only know so much about the world that, knowing me, I would get lost or maybe even hurt.

"I will go with him as well."

Me and the professor turned around, spotting my grandfather at the front entrance to the lab. "Grandpa? How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough," the Lucario stated, taking a few steps towards us. "I came by to see if my grandson had already lost his birthday present, but I overheard you two talking and couldn't help but to listen."

The professor leaned over his chair. "Lucario, Artemis has-"

"I know," said my grandfather, waving the old man's sentence away. "If my grandson is going to be thrust into danger, then I want to be there with him to protect him." The Lucario walked up to me, taking in a deep breath and kneeling down to be at my level. My grandfather looked at me with those aged eyes of his, as if trying to tell me some far and distant story of his. "I messed up with my first child . . . I don't want to do it again with you."

I blinked, taking in what my grandfather had just told me. He left my dad when he turned back into a Pokémon . . . he must feel so bad about it now. Finally, I nodded to the Lucario. "Of course you can come, Grandpa." With that, I stepped forward and hugged the tall being, thankful that he was so willing.

We stayed embraced for a few moments; just holding onto each other . . . then the professor cleared his throat. "Well good. The more, the merrier!" he said, interrupting our family moment. "Xander, just let me get a few things for you to take. Wait here just a moment and I will gather the items."

My grandfather released me, setting my back down in front of him. "While the professor is doing that, I need to go talk to someone before we leave."

I blinked, tilting my head to the side. "Who would that be, Grandpa?"

The Lucario sighed, shaking his head at me. "I'll tell you later. It's just . . . since Artemis talked to you and told you everything, then maybe I can talk to . . . I will tell you later." And with that the Lucario got up and walked out of the lab.

It didn't take the professor to come back with the items he was talking about. The old man came back with a very small, green backpack which was filled with energy bars, instant meals, water bottles, a few match boxes, an extra small tent, and three Pokéballs. "What are these for?" I asked the professor, pointing at the Pokéballs.

"Well Bayleaf is in one of those, the other two are empty."

"You want me to catch Pokémon?" I asked, rising up an eyebrow.

"Well . . . you just never know, Xander," explained the professor, trying to defend himself. "It's best to be prepared for something that never happens then to not be prepared for something that does happen."

I just shrugged from that and closed the backpack. "Oh! Do you still have that Pokédex?"

The old man nodded, walked over to his desk to pick up the device, and then handed it to me. "This is a very odd Pokédex. Keep hold of it, Xander."

I nodded my head, placing the black Pokédex into one of the pockets in the backpack. Once the backpack was zipped up and everything was inside, I hoisted it over my shoulder. Much to my surprise, the backpack fit perfectly on me. It was small enough to fit my size and yet big enough to hold all of the items I needed . . . though I could not think of a plus side for how heavy the food and camping supplies were.

Then I realized something. I was holding camping supplies in my backpack. "Uncle," I said. "Are we not going to just drive over there or take a plane? Whatever happened to that helicopter you always talked about?"

The old man shook his head. "Well, due to what has been happening lately, I had to give up the helicopter. As for why you are going on foot, I'm afraid that there is no other way. I no longer own a vehicle, but the next town is not at all too far from here." The professor walked back over to his desk, grabbed something, and then set it down on the floor in front of me. He unfolded the item he had; quickly showing that it was a large map. "You are right here in Pallet Town," he said, pointing at a spot on the map. "You need to head north from here and you'll make it to Viridian City." The professor traced his finger along a path on the map, stopping at the spot that I could only assume was Viridian City. "There you can stock up on supplies and-" as soon as he said that, he looked up at me, as if remembering something. "Sorry, I keep forgetting your . . . um . . . 'situation'. I would try to stock up on supplies there, but I highly encourage you to try and stay away from any kind of human contact."

"Why?" I asked, sitting myself down. Man that backpack was already getting heavy.

"There are people out there that you cannot trust, Xander. If they see a wild Pichu just walking in front of them (a wild _talking_ Pichu for that matter) then the wrong people could attempt some bad things, maybe even try to capture you. In fact, now that I think about it, perhaps it is best for you to go around the city, just to be safe."

"Alright but then where do I head after that? Where exactly am I trying to get to?"

"Well if you are trying to find your father, then you have to make it to a town called Marble City. It is a very small town, but if you can somehow find a way to get onto a plane, then you could land in Antonio City which is the closest you could possibly get by plane," explained the professor.

I looked around the map in front of me. "I can't find either of those cities, Uncle."

"Well that's because they're not on this map. This is a map of the region we're in right now," explained the professor. "Once you get to an airport, you should be able to buy another map. Well . . . that is _if_ you can get into an airport."

"And what do I do if I can't get into an airport?" I asked.

The professor scratched his head. "Well . . . then try to get on some other mode of transportation. If not that then you will have to walk all the way over there, a feat that took your father years to accomplish."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

The professor sighed then pointed back down on the map. "I suggest that you go to Pewter City and try to get on a plane there. If that doesn't work, then you'll have to travel over to Cerulean City. There they have a bus that can take you over to Fuchsia City where there is a boat that will take you out a good distance, but even getting on that bus may be a feat in itself for you and Lucario. If none of that works, then your best bet is to walk the entire trip, or at least until you find some way to get on some sort of transportation."

Now it was my turn to sigh. Maybe this was all going to be harder than I thought. "Alright, I will see what I can do," I said. I leaned myself forward to try to pick up the map, but my backpack was refusing to let me move. The professor couldn't help but to chuckle at seeing my efforts, eventually leaning down to fold up the map and hand it to me. With a groan, I took the map and took off the backpack.

"You might need some money for your trip, especially now," stated the professor, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a few bills and handed them to me. "Pokémon or not, people will listen when there's money involved. This may not be much, but it's something."

I looked up at the professor and thanked him, taking the money and putting it into one of the pockets in the backpack. After placing the map in the pack as well, I quickly remembered about my grandfather's present. Running over to my room, I swept up the glass flower. I was about to turn and head out of the room when I noticed something on the flower.

Before inspecting any further, I looked behind me. There was nothing behind me, so this could not have been a reflection again. Looking closer at the flower, I could see two feint lights: one being red while the other was yellow. The lights seemed to be . . . vibrating? Flashing might have been a better word, but these lights didn't seem to flash. It was as if they were moving back and forth, towards me and then away from me. I rose up the flower to my face, looking closely at it. Were those voices I heard?

Suddenly the flower brightened up, seeming to explode in pure white light. Then, just as soon as it happened, it stopped. Taking a few moments to let my eyes adjust to normal light, I looked back at the flower. Now it just looked like it was glass, no more random lights in it. I would definitely have to ask Grandpa about this later.

Returning to the professor, I placed the glass flower in my backpack.

"Xander," said the old man, reaching out to place his hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this? I don't know what Artemis has planned for you. You might have to do some things that you may regret; you can still change your mind."

I shook my head, turning from the professor to zip up the pack. "I have to do this. If not to 'save the world' it is to find out just a little more about myself. Maybe, just maybe, if I do find my dad, then I could piece things together." I turned back to face the old man. "You have lied to me all of these years, refusing to tell me who and what I really was. If I do this, then maybe I can find out the truth behind all of this."

The professor sighed and nodded his head. "Very well, Xander. I suppose all I can do is wish you luck."

I nodded back and hoisted the heavy backpack over my shoulder, strapping my other shoulder on. From there I turned around and headed towards the door, but before I opened it I heard the professor call out.

"Xander! His name is Ash, Ash Ketchum."

I blinked. So that is my dad. Ash Ketchum. And with that I walked outside.

***Insert explanation about how rushed this was here.***

**Blah...review...**


	3. Chapter 3

Inner Strength: Time Heals

Part 3

Day one of my journey. Funny, it didn't seem as exciting as I would've guessed it would've been. So far all we have done is just walk . . . and walk . . . and walk.

It was just me and my grandfather and my backpack. My grandpa hardly talked at all as we walked together, so the only sounds that emitted from the two of us was the sound of our feet against the grass.

Finally I decided to break the silence. Still walking through the fields, I turned to face my grandfather. "Grandpa? You wanted to go do something before we left. Where did you go?"

The Lucario breathed in deeply as he heard my question. He tilted his head up towards the sky, as if trying to see something in the clouds. "I went to go talk to your grandmother, Xan."

I blinked at hearing that. "My grandmother? She's around?"

Again the Lucario took in a breath and shook his head. "No. She was not home when I went to go see her. She must be out of town for whatever reason."

"Oh . . . I'm sorry, Grandpa."

He just shrugged and walked closer to my side. "It's alright, Xan. I did want to see her at least once more before we left, but I am almost used to not being able to talk to her. However, in saying that, I'm pretty sure I will see her sometime along this little journey of ours, so don't fret."

All I could do was nod to him and return my gaze back to the trail we walked along. Poor Grandpa . . . I felt like I should say something to him, perhaps something to comfort or encourage him, but what should I say? Oh, don't worry, Gramps! There's plenty of fish out in the sea! Nah, I guess I'm just not very good with things like this.

So we just continued walking on, heading north like my uncle instructed us. After some time we came into a small forest. It wasn't a lush forest or anything but rather was very green and lively. Though, when I say "lively" I really meant the plants, for there was not a single living soul in sight.

"Grandpa? Are we going to see any other Pokémon around here?" I asked looking around. Although I knew this was my first day on this journey of mine, I was still expecting to see other Pokémon along the way. We haven't seen anything move except for whenever the trees and grass would be blown by the wind: a sight that I have quickly grown used to seeing already.

My grandfather groaned, looking around as I said that question. "That is a good question, Xander. Usually we would see some Pokémon around-"

Just then a loud boom thundered through the air, echoing around the forest. We paused, stopping on our trail after hearing such a sound. I perked my ears up, staying quiet while straining to hear something else. My ears were quickly greeted by the sound of a tree cracking, possibly splitting in two, and falling over. My and my grandfather's heads swung over towards the source of the noise, looking up in the sky as waves of bird Pokémon flew away in panic.

My eyes widened in fear. It was already happening! The great war was already starting right before my eyes! Someone was attacking us and we weren't even ready! "Grandpa, it's happening!" I shouted out, dropping my backpack onto the ground while sprinting over to the direction of the noise.

"Wait! Xander!" called out my grandfather before quickly pursuing my lead.

There was no time to wait. Artemis said that I could not stop this war, but maybe I could slow it down or at least save some lives. I just could not stand around and watch! I ran towards the source of the sound, dashing past trees and underbrush, dodging branches and roots alike. I was moving at a good pace, moving at a fast pace, trying desperately to make it to the people who could be in great danger. Then, just like that, a strong pain stung on my side. I tried to ignore it and continue running, but the pain continued to stay there, right along my hip and side of my belly. It was like someone grabbed a nail and pushed it into my skin, making my running slow down considerably.

After a few more seconds of painful sprinting, I came up to a clearing in the forest. Quickly I brought my legs to a halt and posted my body against one of the trees around me, immediately feeling my lungs begging for air within my chest. There I paused for a moment to give my lungs the air that they wanted, all while pressing my paw against my side that had the nail-like pain surging through it. Each breath I took I could feel my heart beating at a thousand beats a second, already feeling worn out.

I was amazingly out of shape. Never before had I ever run like that for that amount of time. But I had to move on; I had to see who was in trouble and who was starting the fight.

Taking one last deep breath, I straightened myself up and jogged a few steps forward, wanting to keep moving but knowing that my cramp wasn't going to let me move very quickly. Though, whether I should thank my lucky star or not, I did not have to move too far, for a large orange blur flew through the air in front of my face. The blur flung back and slammed against one of the trees on the other side of the clearing, making yet another loud boom echo through the forest. The tree split in two, falling over as the orange being slid down its bark.

The creature was huge compared to me. Standing tall it was like a tower completely shadowing my figure. It had thick leather orange skin, two long and large wings, and two short and small arms. Its neck was long and thick while its belly was very round, but I could only guess that it wasn't nearly considered obese. I wouldn't need my Pokédex to figure out what this was. It was a Charizard!

The Charizard picked itself up off of the now fallen tree, seeming not to even care of the damage it just caused. Instead, its eyes glared forward, not even bothering to look at me. It shook itself off and walked forward.

Just as it walked forward, another Pokémon appeared from nowhere and slammed its round body against the Charizard. This new Pokémon one took me a few extra seconds to identify, having to take some time to look through my mental memory of all of the Pokémon Oak had taught to me. This one looked as if it was completely made out of a round stone with the exception of its head, arms, and legs, each of which were muscular and firm like a reptile. This one had to be a Golem!

Using its body, the Golem slammed the dragon back against another tree, giving it a brand new crack. The Charizard retaliated, letting out a lout rawr as it gripped the Golem with both of his strong claws and tossed it over to the side. The Golem fell over onto the ground with a loud thud, bouncing over the grass and dirt as its heavy body made the ground vibrates with each bounce.

Their fight continued on, exchanging blows one after another, beating each other to see who could take the most hits . . . and yet . . . and yet I just stood here watching! Shouldn't I be stopping this? I should be, but I had no idea how. These Pokémon were huge compared to me, I couldn't even grab their attention!

Just as I thought this, another sound emitted from the forest. My ears twitched as I tried to recognize it. It was . . . voices?

"Come on, Flame! Blast him with a Flamethrower!"

"Keep going, Stone! Hit him with another Tackle!"

I turned my head in the direction of these voices. Two creatures stood there, watching the fight before them. They were . . . humans; little young boys by the looks of it. One boy had a blue shirt on with black pants and black shoes, holding onto a miniature Pokéball in his right hand. The other boy wore a red shirt with blue pants and brown shoes, both of his hands in tight fists. Both of the boys refused to look away from the fight happening before their eyes, not even bothering to look at me as I watched their expressions.

My grandfather jogged up behind me, stopping as he saw the fight before me. "Xander, what are you doing? We can't be here." He said while placing a paw on my shoulder, trying to tug me away.

I pulled my shoulder back and pointed at the fight happening before me. My mouth opened to say something, but I first gasped for another breath of air. I was still tired from the run over here. "The war is happening, Grandpa! We have to stop them!" I begged, still unsure how to do just that.

The Lucario looked at me for a moment, blinking now and again as he stared at me in dismay. Then, my grandfather chuckled, shaking his head as he patted my head. He was laughing during a time like this? "I keep forgetting that you are new to these things. This is not an actual fight, Xan. This is just a battle: a friendly competition."

"A competition?" I asked, looking back and forth between the Pokémon and the two human boys. "So . . . this is not war?"

"No, no, not at all. Look, you see those two trainers over there? They're the ones battling. These two Pokémon must belong to them." My grandfather explained.

I looked back at the two boys. They called out more commands out to their Pokémon, flinching and wincing with each blow that was made as if they were feeling the pain that the two creatures were feeling. "This is a battle?" I asked, looking back over at the Lucario. "They look like they're going pretty hard. What if they really hurt themselves?"

"If one of them gets hurt then they will head off to a Pokémon center, or a Pokécenter for short. There are Pokécenters in almost every town to help take care of hurt Pokémon. If these two are battling here then that must mean that we are close to a town."

As soon as he said that, the Lucario grabbed my head and pushed me down to the ground, slamming my head into the dirt. I heard something fly right over me, even felt the wind coming off of it and pushing my hair back. Then there was another boom followed by the now familiar sound of a tree cracking and falling over.

Something just flew right over us, probably one of the battling Pokémon. Slowly, after the sounds stopped, I lifted back up my head. I saw the two trainers looking right at both me and my grandfather.

"Whoa! No way! Is that a Lucario?"

"There's a Pichu too! What are they doing out here?"

"And now it's time for us to leave," urged my grandfather in a whisper.

And that's just what we did.

* * *

><p>After running away from two shocked trainers, the rest of the day went by rather quickly. Sure enough my grandfather was right about there being a town close by, for it didn't take us but a few more hours to walk up to the said town.<p>

However, calling it a "town" was an understatement. We could see the buildings from miles away! The city had towers lining up to touch the sky and had roads that led as far as the eyes could see. As we came closer we could see that the city was littered with people. There were people that looked to be as old as my uncle that walked around as if they were in a marathon race. Little children ran about across the roads and through the buildings.

Once the town was about a mile away, we stopped to think. I turned to look up at my grandfather. "What town is this one called again?" I asked.

"Viridian City," my grandfather said. "It is a very populous city for this area, but you will see many more just like it." Then he made a frown with his face, bringing one of his paws up to his chin in thought. "We can't just walk right on inside . . . or maybe we could."

This made me blink. "We . . . could?" I repeated. "But I thought Uncle said to go around it altogether."

He nodded and rubbed his chin in thought. "Yes, it would probably be safer, but I think we should still look for a faster way to get from city to city. If memory serves me right, I believe that there is a bus station here that we could possibly use. As far as getting inside . . . here, what do you have in your backpack?" I slid off my backpack off of my shoulders and lifted it up to the Lucario. He grabbed it and unzipped it, quickly shooting his arm inside of it to shuffle around some of my stuff.

"What are you looking for, Grandpa?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Something to make us look like we're not wild. A collar, a bandana, a bow, anything that will give people the impression that we belong to someone."

"But I would be wearing that backpack, right? So wouldn't that be enough?" I tried to point out.

That made my grandfather stop searching, pausing with his arm still in that pack as he began to think about my comment. "Well . . . I think you're right, Xander. Never mind then."

He pulled his arm out, zipped up the pack, and handed it back down to me. I slipped it on but looked back up at my grandfather. "But then what about you? You don't need any kind of mark or clothing?"

He shook his head at that. "No, it wouldn't be necessary for me. I've already been caught." I paused at hearing that, surprised. He was caught? I wanted to ask him the obvious, but the Lucario quickly waved his paw at me to silence my question. "I'll tell you another time. Here, let's go before it gets dark."

Now with me armed with my backpack over my back, we walked right into the bustling city, walking as if we already lived there. At first no one gave us a second glance. The people were too busy running around to pay any attention to a Lucario and a Pichu it seemed. The children, however, did take notice in us. One young boy ran up to me just to pat my head. I wasn't sure how to respond to such a motion, too scared that I might make the wrong kind of movement, but the boy just smiled and laughed at me and ran back with his friends.

Maybe I was being a little too skittish at all of this. The adults here were too busy to notice us while the children were just too friendly to really bother us. This realization made me relax and more at ease. It seemed that the further and further in the city we walked, the more relaxed I became. It didn't take too long for me to want to play with the children around me, but my grandfather went against it.

_These people may be nice, but we still have a mission. Staying here for too long will only use up more time, Xan_, my grandfather said to me, inaudibly. I could only sigh and nod my head.

It did take us some time to walk through the massive city. After walking for a few more hours, we realized that we had only made it about half way through. Finally my grandfather said that taking a rest here would be fine, going against his better judgment of "keep moving". We stopped by a clothing store and sat down against one of the sidewalk benches.

"Grandpa?" I whispered to the Lucario after double checking that no one was paying us any attention, leaning against him on the bench. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The Lucario sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I was hoping to see the bus station around here, but I haven't seen it yet. Perhaps it's gone now." I told him that wasn't what I was talking about. He rolled his eyes and turned his head to look over at me. "Just a moment ago you were ready to go play with the people here and yet now you are worried again? Don't worry, Xander. As long as you don't bring attention to yourself then no one really pays you any attention at all. That's how it typically wo-"

Just like that, he stopped in mid-sentence. My grandfather turned his head away from me while straightening himself up on the bench, looking straight forward at . . . something. I looked up at him, confused at what was going on. "Grandpa. . . ?"

He still didn't turn away. Curiosity overtaking me, I turned my head to follow his gaze. At first all I could see was the still bustling crowd of the city walking by . . . but as I looked closer I could see a feint hint of. . .yellow?

"No . . . it's impossible," said my grandfather.

Wait . . . was that yellow coming from . . . another Lucario?

I did the worst possible mistake in my life at that moment: I blinked. As soon as my eyes opened back up, I saw that yellow Lucario right in front of my grandfather. He stood over him with this huge smile on his face, glaring down at the blue Lucario. He seemed to have this . . . aura . . . of overconfidence. It had to be that smile. Just how this new Lucario smiled made it look like it was expecting everything and anything to happen.

"Evening, Brother. Happy to see me?"

My grandfather stayed frozen, looking straight up from where he sat on the bench up at the other Lucario. I watched as his body began to shake and his chest began to heave up and down. He was scared. "You . . . you're supposed to be dead."

The yellow Lucario smile grew wider (as if that was possible) and casually gripped my grandfather's neck. "Oh? Surprised? What, did you want your own brother to be dead? Where's the family love in that?" In a flash the yellow Lucario lifted my grandfather up into the air, holding him there like he was a leaf he found on the ground. I watched in fear as my grandfather clawed at his own neck, trying to pry off that paw that was now choking the very life out of him. The yellow Lucario chuckled and shook his head. "See, I did have this long and antagonizing speech that I was planning on giving you. It talked something about vengeance and how angry I was that you tried to kill me and this and that, but I changed my mind now." The yellow Lucario cocked his arm that held my grandfather's neck back and threw him straight into the clothing store behind us. My grandfather's blue body smashed through the glass windows and through the plastic manikins, toppling over some of the clothing displays while making some of the customers scream in fright.

The yellow Lucario walked into the clothing store, completely ignoring me as he moved. He didn't seem to care about me at all, just at my grandfather. "But instead I found that I would greatly prefer seeing you slowly die," he continued on, stepping over some of that broken glass as he walked further into the store. I dashed off to the side, trying to get a better view of what was going on. "So come on, Brother! Don't bore me by not fighting back! Surely you've gotten stronger over the years, yes?"

The yellow one continued walking by, smirking with that same smile he had as some of the human customers tried to make their mad dash out of the store. He turned his head as a woman tripped over herself and stumbled desperately to get back up to her feet. Again he smirked and scanned the room some more, just in time to have his head greeted by a metal coat hanger.

My grandfather smacked the coat hanger across the other Lucario's head, forcing the other to reel back and bark in pain. The yellow Lucario growled and grabbed that coat hanger, moving with lighting fast speed, making it terribly difficult for my grandfather to have any time to react. The other Lucario pulled the coat hanger away with a mighty jerk and swung it back at my grandfather's jaw.

My grandfather stumbled back and spun around a mighty kick, knocking the coat hanger away. Quickly he followed himself up with a jab at the yellow Lucario's head, pushing him back with the blow.

The yellow Lucario took a step back swung his own kick at my grandfather. He was able to side step the attack, but immediately received a blow to his chest as the yellow Lucario spun his body around for a spinning back kick. The impact sent my grandfather flying to the far end of the store, sending all sort of clothing articles flying off of their hangers and across the floor.

My grandfather's body slammed against the far wall of the store, bouncing off of it like a rubber ball and onto a marble counter where a cash register was placed at. He picked up his head with a groan and looked over at the other Lucario.

The yellow Lucario flashed out of sight. This caused my grandfather to straighten up, quickly getting himself back up to his feet. His left ear flicked and he jabbed his right arm up to his side. Just then the yellow Lucario flashed back into existence, only now with his leg against my grandfather's arm. He blocked it!

My grandfather growled out as he quickly hooked his arm around the other Lucario's leg, nailing the thigh with his elbow, causing the other to yell out in pain, before swinging around to toss the yellow Lucario away.

The yellow Lucario's body flung off to the side but he quickly regained his balance and momentum while in the air, flipping himself around to land his feet up on the ceiling of the store, jumping back down to greet my grandfather.

My grandfather dived over to the side, knocking over what remaining clothing displays that somehow were still standing. Quickly, he got back to his feet and brought his paws over to his right side. There, between his paws, a bright blue orb of pure energy quickly formed, growing until it was the size of a watermelon. With a yell he threw his arms forward and flung the ball of energy towards the yellow Lucario.

The other Lucario landed on the floor on his feet and swatted the blue orb of energy away; treating it like it was a basketball. This made him grin evilly, almost chuckling at seeing my grandfather's attempt.

Just like that, the other Lucario's expression changed from grinning to frowning in anger, thrusting out both of his arms out towards my grandfather. Hundreds upon hundreds of yellow orbs of energy, very similar to the one my grandfather used, flew out of both of his paws.

My grandfather covered up his head with both of his arms, hoping to shield himself from at least some of the bombardment, but it did very little use to him. The yellow orbs slammed against his body, flinging him down to his back on the other side of the store, smashing his body against another marble counter.

I stood there at the front of the store, watching the fight go on before my eyes. What was I doing? I should be in there helping my grandpa fight off this unknown enemy! I can't just stand here and watch as my grandfather was torn to pieces.

Just as I thought that, my grandfather was tossed right back outside of the clothing store, flying over the bench we were previously sitting at and onto the concrete ground beyond it. The yellow Lucario stepped out of the store and dusted off some glass that must've fallen on his shoulder during the fight.

"You are starting to disappoint me, brother. I was hoping that this would've been a challenge." He snorted and shook his head. "How did I lose to you before? I must've been off of my game that day." The Lucario snorted again, though more in a chuckling matter this time. He began to slow walk forward, stepping on top of some of the remaining broken glass, causing a constant cracking noise to be heard with each step he made. "You must be getting old, brother. You're weak now; time has made your bones tender and your muscles weary."

A woman could be heard screaming, though what she was screaming I could not tell. The children that were outside playing, being happy and full of life, were now nowhere to be found. Everyone must've run away in fear once they saw the fight commence.

The yellow Lucario walked up to my grandfather's body and picked him up off of the ground, lifting him up into the air by his neck with just one arm. My grandfather began to choke, bringing his paws up to his own neck in a weak attempt to pull off the other Lucario's grip around his trachea. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but his first words were unrecognizable as only coughs and gags could be heard. "H-how . . . how are you . . .?"

"Alive?" said the other Lucario, finishing my grandfather's sentence. "Oh wouldn't you want to know? Surely by now you must know that I, if anything, am a survivor. Someone as weak and as pathetic as you cannot kill me! No one can kill me! And now, thanks to you, my brother, I am learned how to become even stronger and faster." He smiled again, lifting my grandfather's dangling body up higher into the air. He seemed to enjoy seeing his own brother slowly die before him. "Ignorance is bliss, my dear brother. So you will now die . . . and you will die without knowing anything about what is going on around you."

I could not take it anymore. Going at a full sprint, I ran over to the yellow Lucario and slammed my head against the side of his leg. My body seemed to rebound off of the Lucario's calf, having done nothing to so much as gain the Lucario's attention. Thinking quickly, I got back to my feet and did the next best thing: bite his leg. With a yell I dug my fangs into the yellow Lucario's shin, clamping my mouth down as much as I possibly could. This caught his attention now.

The yellow Lucario howled out in pain as he felt my teeth dig into his flesh. He threw my grandfather's body off to the side while kicking his leg out in an attempt to fling me off. The power from the kick was enough to give my spine a good whiplash, but my jaw held on tight. Again he kicked out his leg, yelling and cursing at me for biting him, but I continued to hold on, seeing stars flash before my eyes with each fling of his legs he gave.

Then he stopped kicking and, instead, forcefully reached down and grabbed me. He gripped onto one of my ears and tugged at it hard, now making me yell out in pain while releasing the Lucario's leg from my jaws. He lifted me up, still holding me by my ear, and brought me up face-to-face with him. "And who the hell are you!" He barked at my face, anger swelling in his eyes. "How dare you interfere with my quarrel! You will die just as-" He paused there, stopping even with his mouth still open as he continued to look at me.

I took this opportunity to try and claw at his face, swinging my paws around to reach his muzzle of his nose even, but my arms were just too short to reach and the momentum of my movements just made my body swing around in the air from my ear.

The Lucario did not seem amused by my efforts. He eyed me closely and lifted me up higher into the air. "Who are you, little one?" He asked me.

I closed one of my eyes from the pain coming from my ear, reaching up to try to pull the Lucario's paw off of me. "Let me go!" I shouted.

He blinked as soon as he heard my voice. "He speaks, and in English too! I must say that you look awfully familiar. Do you have a name?"

"Buzz off!" I spat, still flailing my arms about to try to get free.

That made him chuckle now. "You sound just like my brother now. How to you know him?"

"Freeze!"

The yellow Lucario turned his head, looking back towards the source of that sound. It came from a woman, a human female with bright blue hair and wore a blue uniform of some sort. She was standing next to a blue vehicle that had red and blue lights flashing on top of it. She wasn't alone, either, standing next to her were other men and women, all wearing either the same uniform as she was or similar ones by pattern. Each of them also had similar vehicles, all flashing the same red and blue lights. How did I miss seeing them?

The Lucario lowered me down slightly but still held me up by my ear, turning around to face the woman in blue. He smirked and rose up his other paw towards her. The woman reacted and quickly pulled out a metal gadget of some sort from her hip and pointed it at the Lucario. "This is not an authorized area for battling! Any form of aggression will be considered hostile and we will fire upon you!" shouted the woman, holding her gadget out in front of her. "Stand down now and return to your trainer!"

The Lucario smirked and shook his head. "This is not worth my time." He looked back over at me and brought me closer to his head, showing me his deep red eyes. "We will meet again, little rodent. I will find out who you are and I will kill you, but only after I am done killing my brother. It might not be today and it may not be tomorrow, but I will find you one way or another." He grinned evilly then. "Next time we meet; bring me a real challenge, alright? After all, the more time I spend fighting, the less time you spend suffering."

"Who . . . who are you?" I asked, holding onto my ear with my own paws. "What do you want from us?"

Now the Lucario tilted his head at me. "I am the beginning of the end of this world, little one. I am the beam of light that outshines all others. I am the one that will start a new and better world than the one we currently are standing in." He brought up his other paw over to my hand, ignoring the woman's protests as she shouted more instructions to him. "And in order to do that: everyone must die. That is what I want and what I shall accomplish."

Before I could say anything back, the yellow Lucario slammed his paw against the side of my head. Just like that, I blacked out.

* * *

><p>Man, my head hurt. It was throbbing with a dull pain, almost like what one would feel if they let someone else carefully bop their head with a hammer over and over again. With a groan, I placed my paw on my forehead, thinking that maybe applying some sort of pressure would null the pain somehow. It didn't.<p>

I groaned again from annoyance and sat myself up. Just from that simple movement that I made, I could feel my bones and muscles scream in objection. My whole body was sore; no doubts from being flung around everywhere like a whip thanks to that Lucario.

Who was that Lucario anyhow? He kept calling my grandfather his "brother". Were they actually siblings? Could this random Pokemon actually be my uncle? But then I do remember my grandfather saying something about how he was supposed to be dead. So many questions kept popping into my head about that rare looking Lucario, all of which had no answer.

Then a new question popped into my head: where am I? I blinked my eyes until I was able to hold them open wide and scanned about. I was in some sort of small, red room with a white ceiling and a red door. The room had two chairs, one on both sides of the room, a desk that lined itself against a wall, and a rolling chair that stood in front of the desk. I could see my backpack lying on top of the desk, still zipped up and unopened.

I looked down to find myself sitting on some sort of plastic bed which was covered in what felt like saran wrap, a paper pillow underneath my head.

Then my eyes caught my arm. There was a needle that was stuck into my skin along with a long tube that extended out of the needle. I followed the tube and found a plastic bag hanging off of a metal hanger, filled with some clear liquid.

Where was I? How did I get here?

My next thought was to pull this needle out of my arm, but I hesitated. This could be something important, something good even. Whatever is being pumped inside of me might be trying to keep me alive or might be trying to help me heal.

Or it could be the actual reason why my head was throbbing with so much pain right now. This liquid did not look nor feel natural to me. I could feel it slowly flowing into my blood stream, making my arm feel slightly cold because of the liquid.

Before I could make up my mind, the door at the other side of the room opened up. A middle-aged, pink haired, woman walked inside. She wore a long white apron that covered her entire body, looking like it was the shape of a bell as how it angled outwards the further down it went. Her pink hair was long but was looped around so that they did not reach below her shoulders while the rest of her hair was hidden underneath a white cap on her head.

The woman smiled as she walked inside and closed the door behind her. "Looks like you are awake, little guy. Feeling any better?"

I opened up my mouth to say something but instead let out another groan in pain as my head began to throb again, gripping onto it with my paw.

This caught the woman's attention and she walked over to my side. "Your head still hurts? Here, let me feel." She brought her hand up to my head and rested it there. Somehow the feeling of her hand made the throbbing settle down, though not completely going away. The woman frowned as she felt along my forehead, pulling her hand away once she felt enough. "You are still burning up there. You'll have to stay another day I suppose until you get better." She bent herself over and placed her hands on her knees, now at eye level with me. "Will you be okay with that?"

I stayed quiet. Another day? Does that mean that I already spent a whole day here? And now they want me to stay another day? I can't be wasting my time sitting around! I don't even know where exactly I'm at or-

My ears perked up. I completely forgot about Grandpa! Where is he?

I shuffled around in my bed to scoot myself over to the edge, wincing from feeling my weak muscles flare up in pain. The woman saw my actions and quickly placed a hand on my chest, straightening herself up over me. "No, no, no. You can't just leave yet; you are far too weak to just go wondering around. Don't worry, Pichu, you are safe here. Just lie down and rest."

Her words were calm and reassuring, almost mesmerizing in a way. She was just being polite to me, she just wanted to help, but even her soft words could not ease my worries. "But what about-"

I stopped myself in mid-sentence, quickly shutting my mouth close. The woman blinked as her unwavering eyes continued to stare at me. She blinked again, only this time her face looked more confused now, tilting her head to the side slightly as she gazed at me. "Did . . . did you just?" I kept my mouth closed. I was so stupid! Uncle told me not to go around talking like normal, but I was just so used to it that I almost started a whole new conversation!

Alright, Xander . . . think, think, think! What do Pichu say? Do they have their own language?

I gulped and . . . tilted my head over to the side, letting one of my ears flatten out at the angle of my head. "Chu . . . Pichu?" I was hoping that perhaps I could just move with the flow, maybe make this human believe that she was just hearing things or that her mind was playing her tricks. Maybe if I just sound innocent enough, she'll forget about everything.

She blinked again . . . and stood herself straight up. She mumbled to herself about something while shaking her head and turned towards the door. The woman walked over to the door, opened it up, and began to walk outside, but peaked her head back into my room before she left. "Now rest, okay? You should feel all better by morning. Oh, and whatever you do: don't mess with that I.V please." And with that she left and closed the door behind her.

I sat there on the bed, now alone with nothing but my thoughts in that red room. I turned my head back to look over at the plastic bag that hung over a metal hanger. I could only guess that this was the "I.V" the woman was talking about. I still wasn't sure about the liquid, about whether it was something to help me or not, but I suppose that I wasn't in much of a position to really debate the issue. Whether I like it or not, the woman was right: I'm too weak to start walking around on my own.

With a sigh, I looked down at my paws, raising them up towards my face. These hands . . . my hands . . . are weak. The shiny Lucario showed me how truly weak I am and that little run I did showed me how truly out of shape I am. Already I lost my first fight and remembering how Artemis talked it sounded like I had many more fights ahead of me. If I'm going to "save the world" then I will need to find a way to become stronger.

But . . . how am I supposed to do that?

I sighed. I wish Uncle Oak was here right now. . .

**Yes, yes, I know...this took far longer than it should have. I could give a few excuses for why it took so long but...it mainly just boils down to the simple fact that I just can't be satisfied. I have written, deleted, rewritten, redeleted, and rewritten this chapter again, and yet each time I would proof read what I wrote I just didn't like it. Even now with what y'all just read I still don't think it's good enough...but I just can't seem to grasp how to make it better, how to paint this picture that I want my readers to see, how to describe what keeps playing and replaying in my head. I'm starting to fear that this same delima will repeat itself for the next upcoming chapters, making my readers wait even longer to see what happens next. I hate making y'all wait...but I just hate posting something that I can't honestly say that I am proud of.**

**Eh...it's something that I will have to figure out. I just want to thank all of y'all with your support and patience.**


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